News

Take a trip down memory lane and help improve Matlock Bath

21 July 2016

Day-trippers who enjoyed childhood trips to Matlock Bath are being asked to help the Victorian resort become a successful 21st Century tourist destination.

If you remember visiting the Heights of Abraham, eating an ice cream while strolling down its prom, going down the town’s show caves, looking at the fish in the aquarium – or leaving something to be turned to stone in its petrifying waters – then your experience could help a survey being conducted by University of Derby students. 

Dr Sarah Rawlinson, Head of the Department of Hotel Resort and Spa Management at the University, is leading second and third-year Tourism Management students in a professional audit of Matlock Bath’s attractions, businesses and venues in order to plan for its future.

Matlock Bath’s setting on the River Derwent, between limestone cliffs, led it to be known as Little Switzerland in its Victorian hey-day. The village has been celebrated by writers from Lord Byron to Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman, who dedicated an entire poem to its “romantic rocks.”

Matlock bath

Cable cars which soar above the gorge to The Heights of Abraham are a major regional tourist attraction and the village itself is popular with families and a new generation of motorcyclists for days out.

But changing leisure and travel trends have left the village with an identity problem, says Parish Council Chairman Peter Baranek.

“It’s a regular place for people from far and wide to visit for day trips, and we’d like to know their thoughts,” said Peter, originally a Nottingham lad who fell in love with the town after visits with his family.

“The idea is to find the essence of Matlock Bath so we can bottle it!”

Have you ever been to Matlock Bath? What did you think? Fill in the questionnaire.

The deadline to complete the survey is July 31, 2016.

Find out more about studying Tourism at Derby.